Tell Hamoukar

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Tell Hamoukar ( Arabic حموقار, DMG Ḥamūqār ) is a large archaeological site in the region Dschaziras in Al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, which is near the border with Iraq and Turkey. The settlement there coexisted with the Obed culture up to the early Uruk culture . A first report by an American excavation group was made in 2002.

history

Obsidian production facilities have been found around Hamoukar . Pottery dates from the late Uruk period , Niniveh V and the Akkad period . The city was on an important trade route between Anatolia and southern Mesopotamia .

The excavations suggest that Hamoukar was a center for the production of weapons and tools from obsidian . Since the volcanic rock does not occur in the area around Hamoukar, it must have been created. The closest deposits are in the area of Nemrut Dağı in Turkey about 170 km north of the city. This is also confirmed by chemical analyzes of obsidian. Until then, it was assumed that northern Mesopotamia was under the influence of the southern cities such as Ur or Uruk . The finds in Hamoukar suggest that the north and south developed independently of each other at times.

The city was destroyed around 3500 to 3200 BC and the region was later repopulated by the Sumerians . The city's geographic location suggests that it may have fallen victim to an earthquake . However, the numerous graves and the condition of many houses indicate that the city was besieged and destroyed. Large amounts of clay slingshots were also found. That would be the first demonstrable organized war . The city was probably eliminated militarily as a competitor during the expansion of Uruk (around 3500 BC). In later layers there are remains of a Uruk trading colony in Hamoukar.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. McGuire Gibson, Muhammad Maktash, Judith A. Franke, Amr Al-Azm, John C. Sanders, Tony Wilkinson, Clemens Reichel, Jason Ur, Peggy Sanders, Abdulillah Salameh, Carrie Hritz, Brigitte Watkins, Mahmoud Kattab: First Season of Syrian -American Investigations at Hamoukar, Hasekeh Province . In: Iraq , 64, 2002, pp. 45–68, here: p. 49.
  2. Felix R. Paturi : The great riddles of the past / 5500 years ago: War in the Middle East . Piper Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-492-25223-2 , pp. 35 .
  3. ^ Artifacts from Hamoukar . University of Chicago.
  4. The first war of mankind . Spiegel Online , January 17, 2007.

Coordinates: 36 ° 48 ′ 43 "  N , 41 ° 57 ′ 21"  E

Relief Map: Syria
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